The dog that loved jumping over fences ( Story )

Skippers ear itched. He scratched at it. It felt good. He saw the neighbor Polly coming out the door. Tail wagging, Skipper jumped over the fence to greet her. Polly screamed in delight and that made Skipper excited. He gave Polly's face a good long lick and jumped around asking her to play. Polly giggled more and pet his head. That was even better than scratching an itch by himself. His hips were wagging with his tail now. His joy had jumped over the moon. Then Polly put her hand in her pocket, and brought out a biscuit. Skippers heart almost exploded from excitement. He got so excited that he couldn't help himself, and he snatched the biscuit and ran away, jumping over the fence, to find a place to eat his snack in peace, even as the little girl laughed and squealed behind him.

Skipper woke up from his sleep. He let out a big yawn as he stretched his legs. He got up with a jolt as he saw movement in the distance. Squirrel! Skipper jumped over the fence and ran straight for the little thing. The squirrel must have been a mind reader, for without even looking in his direction, the squirrel ran faster up the tree, long before he could reach it. Skipper felt frustration built up in his heart and he could not help but bark at the branches of the tree as he jumped around it, hoping that the squirrel would be startled into falling off whichever perch it was hiding in. He could hear human voices near him laughing and shouting in excitement. He would have paid them mind if he were not on the hunt. After forever, finally Skipper got tired and went back and jumped over the fence, and behind him a young couple smiled and a squirrel counted nuts in its hole in the tree.

Skipper ran towards the monster. It scared him to do so, but he couldn't help himself. It was in his nature to be a fighter. He ran after the monster with eyes and no face. He almost stopped in his tracks and turned tail, but the monster got scared before him. The monster roared and then ran in the opposite direction first and so skipper jumped over the fence after him, with lights turning on in the house behind him and voices shouting in the night. Skipper managed to bite a leg and got kicked in the chest. He let go of the leg but kept growling and chasing the monster till the edge of his land. When the monster was finally out of sight skipper went back over the fence, and was given lots of pets and a big steak. He thought it must be his birthday, and ate the steak happily.

Skipper got up shaking the cold wind off his back. It had rained a lot the day before. The friendly neighbors had even let him into the house to sit by the fire. They seemed to like him more every year for reasons he could not fully understand, but he was happy to have the love. He jumped over the fence, and heard his name being called. He ran towards the sound and slipped and smacked into a log. He yelped, his hand had gotten stuck in a twisted branch. He yowled a while and running footsteps reached him. He grabbed the arm with his mouth as he whimpered, to hold back the pain. The arm did not pull away, the hands working on uprooting the wood. He was stuck there forever until the wood was finally undone. The man grabbed him and picked him up and carried him over the fence towards his car.

Skipper got up with a limp. His one paw didn't move quite as well as the others, although he couldn't remember exactly why. Maybe it had always been this way. He bent down in front of the fence, took aim, and jumped over. He then trotted over to the door and barked at it twice. A long time later the door opened, and a fresh loaf of bread was handed to him, along with a pat on the head. He took the bread and carried it back as he jumped over the fence. He sat down to eat it. The front door however did not close as usual. More noises came from inside the house, and soon after footsteps came near him, footsteps that sounded more like his own than those of another neighbor. Skipper looked up and he growled. It was a girl dog. He did not want her taking his bread. She politely sat down and waited in front of him. He was done with half his bread when the woman came out of the house with another loaf and handed it to the other dog. "Good". Thought Skipper, I don't have to share. He finished his meal and went back to sleep as the girl dog looked at him curiously and nibbled her food.

Skipper got up with a bark. The pup gave a startled yelp and let go of his tail. He put his teeth around the head of the whelp until it yelped again. "Good." Thought skipper, "now that will teach you to not bite the tail that feeds you!" He licked the pup clean and then turned toward the lowering sun to warm his face while it was still there. After a while he got up and ran towards the sheep. Skipper jumped over the fence and barked at it to turn away from the road. "Blehhh!", the sheep responded before it returned to its kin. Beside him the little pup let out its own little barks at the sheep, having managed to fit in from under the fence. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all." Thought skipper, and he turned back and jumped over the fence, and went back to sitting at his perch, keeping an eye on the herd.

Skipper got up with a snort. The noise of the children having awakened him. He looked around him and wondered when the neighbors kids had come to be. His children and the neighbors shouted and barked and laughed and yelled at one another. He kept one eye on them to make sure nobody got too rough. The man of the house sat beside his perch. A bench having been built there. Skipper looked around a moment and noticed Polly older now, sitting by herself with a book in hand. Her face did not look happy and he did not like that. Lazily, Skipper got up and jumped over the fence, and gave Polly's face a lick. Polly first complained angrily so he kept licking it until she finally squealed. It made him feel good. Polly gave him a hug and held him a while. The hug did not end but he had work to do. He pulled himself out after a while and jumped back over the fence, to keep an eye over the children.

Skipper woke up with his eyes closed. He did not wish to get spit in his eyes. The kid was full of love. He put his paw over Jr.s face to let her know she could stop now. He could sense her excitement and smell the food in the wind. The neighbors had stopped giving him food outside a long while back. He went to the fence and gently with his mouth opened the hinge and walked inside. Jr with all her youth jumped over the fence. She ran towards the house and with a momentary burst of speed Skipper leapt forth and pushed her down into the ground. He barked at her and she whimpered in apology. They walked by the muddy ground calmly, with her tail wagging full of life. They reached the door and he barked. The Misses barked back from inside, having never gotten used to living out in nature. The door opened and they entered for their meal.

Skipper woke up with a cough. The winters were getting worse. It annoyed him how the children and the neighbors weren't wearing more sweaters. He limbered past the fence, where there was an opening now for him to walk through with ease. He lay down in front of the tree and watched the squirrel right in front of him, go about its business, unafraid. Jr and the misses watched from the window along with the woman. The woman looked worried and that made him sad. He let out a loud single bark and pretended to get up. This startled the squirrel and scared it back up the tree. He looked back towards the window and saw his family wag their tails. The woman's expression did not seem to change and she walked away from the window. Soon the door opened and she called to him. He stayed where he lay. He did not want to go inside.

Skipper lay where he was. The fire crackled beside him and kept him warm. His bones ached. Jr sat beside him, keeping him company. The misses came into the room and sat down beside him. Jr got up and left to keep an eye at the perch. The fire just wasn't warm enough anymore. He did not feel scared. Just tired. He was given food ten times a day now but he was never hungry. Sometimes the man would come, sometimes the woman, sometimes Polly, sometimes a friend of the neighbors. He would take a bite because it seemed to make them happy. It felt nice to be surrounded by his family. It felt good to have them all together besides him. Now, he felt a warmth spread from his heart to his toes, and his bones stopped hurting. He fell asleep, dreaming, looking forward to tomorrow.